Do empty homes affect your community? Are you struggling to get your communities to work together? Andrew Stunnel, the Communities Minister, has announced that some of the ‘Empty Homes Fund’ will be available for community groups to help bring empty homes back into use again. There are 720,000 empty properties in England according to the campaign group Empty Homes, a lot of work could be done to make a dent in this number.
The allocation fund of £100 million was open to housing providers for a period of time and the bidding closed yesterday. As a result of this, community groups will benefit from anything between 10 and 30% of the total fund over a three-year period. Community groups do not have to become registered providers to be allocated the money; this is part of The Community Grant Programme, which will allow groups to apply.
If you are thinking of helping community groups and feel there is a need to get empty houses back up and running, this could be something to apply for. It is thought that the bidding will run up until the end of March; the exact funding will not be decided until the demand is seen.
Here’s a tip to think about – if you or anyone around you is thinking of bidding, those who offer training and employment opportunities within the local community (or can make a good case for overall benefit to the community) will be favourable candidates.
Good luck to all those who are thinking of bidding, it could make a real difference.
For more information on the above article, please visit http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/repairs/minister-to-reveal-empty-homes-fund/6520092.article
